Redd's Roster of Restaurants of the Old Weird New York

Ah, but you can just click on the image to enlarge and then "search by image" to confirm for example, that it is indeed Dave Edmunds in the photo, or simply look at the Related Images.

Redd, that guy's a psycho! And you have his name wrong, he's not an Updike character.

Some good punk photos from that guy too- Thunders, Damned, Dead Boys- but you have to click around or regoogle.

Oznot's was my favorite local restaurant in Williamsburg, the food was usually pretty good and not expensive

El Charro on Charles St. just closed a couple of months ago after serving Spanish food since 1959 (prompting me to wonder when and why I stopped going there, because it was delicious)

Eh, what's that you say" "Spanish food? El Charro"? I though you said:
El Faro, 823 Greenwich Street, (very close to Rio Mar)
Opened in 1927, closed in 2012
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/el-faro/
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121004/meatpacking-district/el-faro-restaurant-stay-closed-indefinitely-owner-says

It's driving me nuts not being able to confirm the existence of that Italian paparazzo place. The name Boccaccio turns up zilch - maybe that wasn't exactly it. I think it may have been where Silver Spurs is now on LaGuardia Place

I feel you. Those kinds of things get to me as well. When was the last time you were there? Maybe you can look at the songlines website, that guy usually has a lot of history for each particular address.

Loved Steak Frites. I remember warm frisee with bacon rocquefort dressing.

This one is NOT GONE. Totally part of 'old weird New York' in my mind. Somehow still open on 47th street. It's inevitable that one day it will close so please go before it does. My recommendation: red beans, yellow rice, pork chop, and octopus salad. You will not need to eat for about 2 days afterwards.

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/margon/

I was sad to read that Pakistan Tea House had closed, but it looks like it's re-opened? I haven't been in NYC for like 2 years so I dunno. Anybody been? It was always so good and so cheap and so solid for that crucial 2am hot meal if you were in the area and needed that. And pretty much exclusively frequented by cabbies at that time of night.

http://tribecacitizen.com/2016/01/04/an-explanation-from-baluchis/

So the location at 225 Varick Street, which was Steak Frites for a while, then became Lucy Browne's for a few years, a faux New Orleans place (named after a Threepenny Opera character, but misspelled?)

http://ny.eater.com/2013/7/3/6411067/can-a-restaurant-location-be-cursed

Before that the location housed Brothers Barbecue-
- after they had moved from smaller, funkier, infinitely more charming spot on Houston-

where you could enter through either the front door at
228 West Houston Street
or the back door on Downing Street.

We used to go see Allysa Torey and her True Blue Bourbon Boys every Thursday in the spring of 1990 - this was when she was trying to be a country singer, before she tried to be a swing singer, before she opened the Magnolia Bakery, of which I know nothing- and then go home to watch our VHSed versions of Season One of Twin Peaks. Those who had already seen it were honor bound to maintain silence in the present of the tapers. Her bass player and boyfriend at the time at one time employed as a sort of factotum and remains quite fond of ilxor ian orion's friend Kevin, he of Rocks In Your Head and What's Your Rupture recordings.

Down the street later appeared

Toukie's at 220 West Houston

owned by Toukie Smith model, an actress and a significant other of the actor Robert De Niro.

New screenname inspired by this thread.

Have run out of restaurants to add to the roster for now. Thanks for the good work everybody in making this an enjoyable thread.

El Faro was a regular haunt of mine too, not "authentic" Spanish but tasty & filling drunk food. El Charro was good too, used to get the Mexican dishes there. Sevilla on West 4th still dispensing the greasy paella last time I stumbled by.

There's a sub-genre of old-time cheap eateries recast as pricey foodie spots. Fedora was an out-of-time slightly worn 1950s Italian-American restaurant on West 4th, run by a charming elderly couple, serving a set menu to a clientele of mostly middle-aged and older gay men. My wife (then girlfriend) and I used to go there for eggplant parm & cheap Valpolicella back in the day. Now it's a trendy boîte or was a couple years ago. No interest in going back.

Really? When did it get repurposed? About five years ago I was with a group that happened to wander in there by accident- no lie- and it was exactly as you describe.

Sevilla on West 4th still dispensing the greasy paella last time I stumbled by.

I think this is the place whose name I was trying to remember because I was sure it was closed by now! Lots of good times there.

xpost

here's the menu, not that I'm opposed to this kind of food, mind http://www.fedoranyc.com/#/menu/coming-soon/

i may have been harsh, looking at yelp sounds like they're going for a speakeasy vibe which is what it always was.

The drinks menu is a classic hipster smattering of offerings that range through most of the liquor a clear to brown. The bartenders clearly know their stuff, as i overheard one giving a pretty solid run down of how to make your own bitters. Their wines by glass are a respectable showing with a good mix between sweet, light, and heavier dry wines.

The food menu is just a hair more exotic than an American gastropub's usual offerings. They have a good selection between meat and seafood. Their appetizers however lean more towards seafood. My pet peeve is that the menu descriptions aren't complete. I ordered the fried chicken (which was expertly fried) but did show up with a giant fried chicken foot in it that was entirely unexpected. It was also swimming in broth. I also ordered the roasted radishes which sounded divine but ended up having an overwhelming odor of fish about them (I think from the flakes on top which weren't mentioned in the description). I'm not a picky eater but I do expect to be able to read a menu and reasonably assume that it lists everything that is a main flavor component or meat offering in that dish. That was a little disappointing to me.

Ah, I see, changed hands in 2010, reopened in 2011.

fried chicken in broth

https://kinkyfriedmansgreenwichvillage.wordpress.com/
http://thevillager.com/villager_352/tryingtokeep.html

was thinking fondly (?) of planet thai on 7th a few days ago and my wasted youth. Miss Florent terribly and knew this thred would be a downer when you led w/ it. The fact that there's nothing in that space still is a crime.

Robin Des Bois on Smith St; Survived by Bar Tabac, which was/is probably better anyway...

http://www.yelp.com/biz/robin-des-bois-brooklyn

Oh, didn't know Robin Des Bois closed. That was a fun place to go. I didn't like the food at Tabac the couple of times I went. I don't remember the food at Robin that well but I want to say it was at least a little better.

I feel like the ethos that created that place slightly predated the current foodie movement where every ingredient is so carefully massaged, and it was more about the atmosphere.

BTW a seriously old (over a century iirc), and slightly weird place not too far from there is Ferdinando's.

what was the coffee shop near Coliseum Books? standard at best, but convenient and seemingly tourist-free.

BTW a seriously old (over a century iirc), and slightly weird place not too far from there is Ferdinando's

In the same category, there's Sam's (Italian) on Court Street, 86 years in business. Once had the same pizza-maker (Mario Migliaccio) for 60 years in a row.

Spent the night of the '03 Blackout seated at Florent (outside) with my boss and pals from work - I worked directly across the street and we were regular customers. Florent and crew made sure everyone had plenty to eat and drink ( and ICE!) since it was all mostly gonna go bad. Ended up almost going home with the daughter of a former Latin American President who was had joined out little table. She was studying in NYC at the time and living next door to my work. My conscience wouldn't let me go there ( her father had been a notorious one). Man, NYC used to be great for this type of thing.

~110 years, in fact xp. Very good, actually, and has a few unusual items like Pannelle's (sort of a Sicilian falafel served with ricotta and tomato sauce) and calf spleen. They also have Manhattan Special on tap, only place I've ever seen that.

Major digression there but my point was that Florent the man and restaurant hold a very special place in a lot of hearts. His crew was awesome as well. I really miss them.

xp oh yeah I've been to Sam's a few times too, I thought the pizza was very good.

(sorry for weird capitalization, spelling and apostrophization of panelle, v tired)

I love that Spain on W. 13th is still kickin'.

Spain opened in the late '60s but somehow seems much older. Maybe it was some other restaurant before

El Quijote at the Chelsea Hotel opened in 1930, but I don't think it was a full-on Spanish-themed restaurant till the late '50s or so. That's one of the time-warpiest places in town that is still good.

Veau d'Or on E. 60th St. is another like that; opened 1937 and serves French food exactly as you would get it 50 years ago - creamed spinach as a side, always

i still consider myself somewhat of an NYC n00b -- despite having spend 13 years here, now.
one ye olde williamsburg institution was Matamoros deli on Bedford avenue with a small lunch counter and seating area in the back. Had my first ever cabeza tacos there, and the chorizo was outta sight. it's long gone now. i also miss Spikehill on bedford, though that was not as significant a place for me when i first moved here. their burger was one of my fave in the city, reasonably priced, and came with perfectly crispy fries and always-fresh tomato & a thick slab of red onion.

the day paul's on second avenue closes will be a very sad day for me.

Ian i think those were after my time!

I will add to the Florent love! It was always where I went for dinner before a big night out at DA CLUB. Flo himself was everything everyone has already said he was. And yes there was something serendipitous about the place, you'd end up running into people. And for a long time it was literally open 24 hours wasn't it?

i did like the mashed potatoes at Mama's Food Shop near Ave B.

Where have the quality mashed potatoes gone?

RIP :(
http://www.yelp.com/biz/matamoros-puebla-grocery-brooklyn

Oh my fuck, no.

https://www.facebook.com/lospollitos2/

Pollitos Dos. CLOSED. The place just down from Key Food on 5th Ave. When I lived on 4th Ave this place was so crucial. You could get a half rotisserie chicken for like $4. It was so good. The service was great. They had tablecloths, it felt legit, the food was terrific and it was all so cheap.

Apparently Taza de Oro is closed now (a year ago). I hadn't checked until just now, but it seemed as likely as not. Great Puerto Rican lunch counter.

Speaking of Chelsea, a place I have never set foot in and is probably bad but seems to be kind of an institution is The Half King.

xx-post I remember what was there before Pollitos Dos. It was a Dominican place called El Diamante. Waitress there had a great singing voice & would sing along to the jukebox or just a cappella. That area used to be full of Domincian joints.

Oh, pft, nevermind

The Half King is a bar and restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, directly below the High Line on 23rd Street. It was started in 2000 by journalists Sebastian Junger and Scott Anderson, and filmmaker Nanette Burstein, as a neighborhood place that could also serve as a meeting spot for people in the publishing and film industries.

damnit. Fooled.

Josefa yes. There was a great Dominican place up caddycorner to Flatbush, near Royal Video. Can't remember what it was called now but they had amazing mofongo.

There was a great Dominican place up caddycorner to Flatbush, near Royal Video

El Rey de los Castillos de Jagua, in the space that's a Duane Reade now.

Sister restaurant El Gran Castillo de Jagua is still in business across Flatbush. And there was another Dominican place called La Terrazza about a block away on 6th Ave. (where Purbird is now)

…or probably "Terraza" with one z, Spanish-style

lol the half king is terrible. terrible crowd, bad food, overpriced, kind of ugly xxpost

I'm really enjoying this thread btw, just wish I could have enjoyed some of these places

Hopefully I will have time later this evening. In the meantime, keep up the good work, everybody!

Terraza - that's the one I was thinking of. And they actually did have a little terrace you could sit on.

I wonder what Fanelli's on the corner of Prince is like these days. The same as always I guess?